Last Sunday we decided to treat ourselves to a night away at the gorgeous Newbridge on Usk hotel for my birthday! Newbridge on Usk is part of the Celtic Manor group who do a brilliant Sunday rollover offer which includes a night at one of their hotels, a three course meal at any of their restaurants, breakfast and use of the facilities at the main hotel.
We chose Newbridge on Usk as it came highly recommended by a friend who had visited before and I couldn’t think of anything better than waking up on my birthday surrounded by glorious Welsh countryside.
When we first arrived we drove into the tiny hamlet over a beautiful bridge which is situated just in front of the restaurant. We were checked in by extremely helpful staff who showed us to our stunning room complete with four poster bed, free-standing bath, a balcony with views of the river and fields below and a mini box of birthday chocolates!
After going for a walk to explore our surroundings (and making the most of the TV in the room to watch the Women’s World Cup Final!) we got dressed up ready for dinner.
I don’t even know where to start with our dinner because the whole experience was absolutely incredible! We were shown to our table just inside doors which opened up onto a terrace and had views directly onto the surrounding fields. I started with an Elderflower Collins while we were choosing our food (I can never resist an elderflower cocktail).
The food itself was honestly some of the best I’ve ever eaten. The pictures I took definitely don’t reflect how beautiful it all was but I was trying to make the most of my birthday dinner so didn’t want to spend ages setting photos up. For my starter I had an artichoke barley risotto with crumbled goats cheese. I’d never tried artichoke before but I love trying something different when I eat out and it definitely paid off. The artichoke came 3 ways and it was all absolutely delicious.
Whenever we go to a restaurant I usually try to have fish for at least one of my courses because I don’t cook it very often at home. With that in mind for my main I had pan fried sea bream with cheesy mashed potato, beetroot and lettuce. The fish was cooked to absolute perfection with a gorgeous crispy skin and I honestly didn’t want to finish it! The real start of the show though was Kieran’s lamb. He paid the £4 supplement for his main and there’s never been money better spent. I was only allowed to try a tiny mouthful but it was easily the best lamb I’ve ever tried and I’d go back again just to eat that.
By the time it came to dessert I was pretty full so we took a break for a while to let our food go down and enjoy the sunset outside. When we finally had room dessert was just as fantastic as our other courses had been. We couldn’t decide what we wanted so we picked two desserts at random and shared them between us. We ended up with a rhubarb Eton Mess and a mascarpone set cream with amaretto foam, chocolate ice cream and coffee jelly.
Even if you don’t stay at the hotel I would definitely recommend travelling for a meal at the restaurant!
The next morning I got my wish and woke up with sun streaming in from our balcony surrounded by stunning countryside as I opened my cards and present in our four poster bed. After all the food we’d eaten the night before I wasn’t particularly hungry but once I saw the breakfast spread I quickly managed to eat another two course meal!
There was a cold buffet selection set up in the main restaurant with cereals, juices, local honeys and jams and my all-time favourite Danish pastries. We shared an apricot and a vanilla pastry whilst we were looking at the menu to choose our cooked breakfast. I had another of my favourites Eggs Royale while Kieran had an incredible looking Full English made up of locally sourced products.
Once we’d filled up again we checked out and headed over to the main Celtic Manor hotel to make use of the facilities there. We did a quick 45 minute full body workout in their gym, went for a swim and then enjoyed relaxing in the Jacuzzi and sauna.
I absolutely loved every second of our stay at Newbridge on Usk and I’d highly recommend paying them a visit, especially on the Sunday rollover offer!
Healthy Abs 
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